He sat at an angle, his broad shoulders crooked, one leg bent beneath a massive hand, the other stretched; foot tapping to an unknown rhythm. The king raised a hand to touch Gabriel’s hair; wrapping a finger around a curl and watching it spring back into place. XXNX Innocence leaves a delightful taste.” ‘Taste?” Gabriel thought to himself. The King and Queen had declared, after three months, that they had heard enough, and would decide his father’s fate the next day. King Ansell leaned forward and stroked a calloused finger down Gabriel’s cheek, turning his head. Gabriel’s father was questioned meticulously, and he crumbled. The memory was an immensely painful one, but less painful than kneeling on all fours, allowing the bear of the man behind him do what he was doing.
